“No ship can enter or leave without the approval of the United States Navy. It is ‘sealed up tight’ until such time as Iran is able to make a deal,” he said.
The directive follows Trump’s extension of the fragile U.S.-Iran cease-fire earlier this week, which was tested Wednesday when Iranian soldiers targeted three vessels in the Strait before seizing two of them.
Iranian state media named the two vessels seized by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy as the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca and Liberia-flagged Epaminondas. A third ship, Euphoria, reportedly escaped capture.
Technomar Shipping Inc, the Greek operator of Epaminondas, confirmed to TIME that the vessel had been seized by Iranian authorities and they were working with regional partners to resolve the situation.
Iranian state TV later aired footage it said depicted the armed, masked members of the IRGC boarding the seized vessels.
The Iranian government has maintained that it controls the Strait of Hormuz, moving to impose tolls on vessels that seek safe passage—a move Trump vowed to stop with the U.S. naval blockade of Iran’s ports in the Strait.
